1. Field of the Invention
The invention is related to electrical lock mechanisms and, in particular, to an electrically actuated lock mechanism for the rear deck lid of an automotive vehicle having electrical failure protection.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Lock mechanisms for the rear deck lid of automotive vehicles are well known in the art. In general, most of the rear deck lid locking mechanisms are purely mechanical and incorporate a latch member entrapping a mating member, such as a lock bar. The locking mechanism may be attached to the rear deck lid and the mating lock bar attached to a structural element of the vehicle below the lower extremity of the rear deck lid opening, or the locking mechanism may be attached to a structural member of the vehicle and the lock bar attached to the rear deck lid. Normally, the mechanical locking mechanisms are locked by forcefully closing the rear deck lid causing the lock bar to engage the latch member and displace it to a locked position. The latch member is mechanically released from the locked position by the rotary motion of a key actuated lock.
In recent years, rear deck lid lock mechanisms have been developed which permit the lock mechanism to be electrically unlatched from inside the vehicle's passenger compartment, as well as manually unlatched by means of the key lock. Typical electrically released rear deck lid lock mechanisms have been disclosed by Quantz in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,917,330, 4,652,027 and 4,667,990, and by Allen in U.S. Pat. No. 3,504,511. Additionally, power locking mechanisms have been incorporated into the rear deck locking mechanisms to displace the latch member to its locked position such as taught by Peters, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,580,623 and 3,596,484, in which a hydraulic mechanism displaces the latch member to the locked position when the rear deck lid is closed. Alternatively, Bellot et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,395,064, discloses a rear deck lid having an electric motor connected to a lock member and a latch member by a pair of lost motion links. De Claire et al, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,332,713, disclose an electrically driven latch closure having motor driven rack engaging a toothed sector of the latch member to rotate the latch member between its open and latched position. Oishei, U.S. Pat. No. 3,113,447, and Lentz et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,016,968, disclose a pneumatically operated latch closure mechanism. Garvey et al, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,896,990, disclose a rear deck lid closure mechanism having an electrically driven jack screw for lowering the rear deck lid to its closed position after the latch mechanism has engaged the lock bar. The problem with most of these deck lid power mechanisms, and in particular the electrically actuated rear deck lid locking mechanism taught by Quantz in U.S. Pat. No. 4,667,990, is that the deck lid cannot be locked when the electrical actuator fails in a release position.
The invention is an improved rear deck lid lock mechanism of the type disclosed by Quantz in U.S. Pat. No. 4,667,990 which may be unlocked with a conventional key lock or by an electrical actuator remotely actuated from inside the vehicle's passenger compartment. The lock mechanism disclosed by Quantz may be latched by forceably closing the rear deck lid, causing the latch member to move to its locked position, or by lowering the deck lid with a force only sufficient to displace the latch member towards its locked position. The displacement of the latch member will activate an electrical actuator and thereafter the latch member will be electrically driven to its locked position. The improved rear deck lid lock mechanism also includes a bypass mechanism which allows the rear deck lid to be locked under all types of failure of the electrical actuator.